Global Warming & the System of Reiki

(Excerpt from new Revised and Expanded The Reiki Sourcebook 2009 by Bronwen and Frans Stiene)

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has projected that within the next 100 years there will be a global warming of 11.5 °F (6.4 °C) due largely to greenhouse gas emissions.

Meaning that our glaciers will melt, our sea levels rise and that there will be an increase in extreme weather events. Change in the climate will affect not only our quality of life but also that of the flora and fauna with species’ extinctions and a change in agricultural yield.

Governments world-wide are discussing how to reduce and counteract this effect. Global warming is a hot political issue. People talk of reducing carbon emissions and how as individuals we need to be more conscious of the cars we buy, the light bulbs we use, the fuel we burn, the appliances we buy and so on.

Finally, it seems we are catching on that our lifestyle of have and have more is creating an unbalanced world where we may no longer be able to exist (let alone co-exist) with our environment. What a pity that such drastic changes, on such a massive scale, must first occur before we open our ears, our minds, our selves to nature’s voice.

Where does the Reiki practitioner fit into this picture of a greedy world, ravaging its natural resources and fouling its bed? Is there a Reiki solution?

The first thing many Reiki practitioners might think of as a solution is to ‘send’ distance healing to the planet using the techniques they studied in Level II. Certainly a concerted energetic effort at supporting the natural flow of the Earth’s energy can be beneficial. There are a number of Reiki groups actively working with dedication at such projects. But what more can be done? Is there another Reiki solution?

A practitioner finds that by delving deeper into one’s own existence, using the five elements of the system of Reiki, new understandings occur. These include a full-bodied sense of connection with the natural elements. As this develops, the science classes from one’s youth take on a more meaningful and experiential turn; one that is actually lived rather than read of.

By working on ourselves then, could it be possible that we can positively affect global warming?

There grows from inner work a natural sense that, yes, without trees we are bereft of oxygen. We sense that when we walk in the forest, trees are our natural companions. Without rain, we can also sense that the world is thirsty and that the opportunity for growth becomes stunted. The links within the cycle of existence are as intuitively apparent as the links that you follow through your own daily routine.

Such daily cycles also take on a more complete picture when the inner work strengthens.

We begin to understand reciprocity. Everything that is created comes from somewhere else. We do not create out of nothing. Life is a constant flux of influences and it is from them that we draw to create. A flower grows through our tender loving care. And then we give back in beauty, knowledge and wisdom. The joy we feel is shared.

With inner growth, there comes an awareness of an innate responsibility toward that which is created. Where was it created and from what? What was taken from the Earth to make this product? And when we are finished with it – what will be returned to the Earth and in what form? A plastic container, a wrapper, foam, a used diaper?

In this current state of greed we constantly buy and throw away. When we take, we stress the Earth and when we return our damaged products, we do not nourish our environment but stick a knife into its core.

A person who is in touch with the natural elements begins to realize that there is no need for us to take, take, take. Materialism does not create happiness. The more a practitioner works on oneself the more he or she realizes that life is in how one lives it, rather than what one can take from it. Living in sync with nature, one no longer stresses the Earth, one learns and listens from its wisdom.

Tales are told of yogis living deep within the wilderness, in damp caves, or on top of mountains surviving extreme climates. And they do survive. Is this accomplished by destroying the environment? No, the yogis look within and develop an ability to co-exist with their natural surroundings. In the depths of winter an inner heat is created that gives them strength and warmth and impacts the outside world imperceptibly.

Such effective techniques are common in spiritual practices from Japan, China, Tibet and other countries. In Japan, for example a monk or nun practices misogi (purification) by standing under ice cold waterfalls, preferably in winter. Being able to withstand such extreme temperatures toughens the mind and body, supporting the development of a flexible form.

These stories are not just tales, but true practices and can be performed by any individual – with practice. In fact, Genshin Fujinami Ajari states “Human beings are not special, there are no special things.” That statement is made from a place of Oneness and expresses the understanding that anyone who works on themselves is possible of anything. Reiki practitioners are given these very tools of self-practice.

In Levels II and III Reiki practitioners work strongly with this concept of Oneness. Becoming One with your environment, after much practice, means that you too will be able to regulate your body temperature. Perhaps not something that many practitioners think about. It is not impossible; it is merely the result of submersion into a practice. If, for example, Reiki practitioners could evolve their personal practice to the point that their bodies could deal with more extreme temperatures, this might mean…less need for wood for a fireplace or less gas for an electric heater. The domino effect from this would be less stress on the forest and the Earth. Perhaps that would reflect on materials required to be manufactured for clothing, less strain on fields and consequently less spraying of poisonous chemicals to create bumper crops.

It is a thought.

And when we know deep within our being that everything is interlinked, our consequent actions may begin to make a dent in this cycle of greed.

With the clarity of mind that comes with self-practice, a world of friendship between all natural forces opens to be explored and lived in.

All that we require to achieve this comes first from within.

Is it a pipe dream – or is it the practice of a serious-minded practitioner who rejects the life style of a world that refuses to sustain itself viably? Can Reiki practitioners work through their practice to help positively affect global warming?

Bronwen and Frans Stiene